Checking in from SNP conference
I’m at a massive new venue out by Dyce Airport in sunny Aberdeen for the SNP’s annual conference.
Our Party has grown so much since the independence referendum that there are few places able to house our delegates these days. Changed times.
Conference is a time to catch up with old pals, to catch up with progress in both Holyrood and Westminster, for members to agree future policy and set out our aspirations as to the kind of country we want Scotland to be.
It’s also a time to express opinion on what’s happening elsewhere in the world. Yesterday, along with Bob Doris MSP whose Glasgow constituency is home to many Kurdish families, I raised the betrayal of the Syrian Kurds by the President of the United States.
It was a shock to many across the world when the Donald Trump abandoned the Kurdishled Syrian defence force who have played the leading role in the defeat of ISIS.
Now the Kurds are on their own and the Turkish Army on the offensive. We’ve heard the reports of casualties on both sides and that ISIS fighters are again on the loose.
What an appalling state of affairs. What a disgraceful way to treat allies. The President’s advisers are apparently shocked by his unilateral decisions, often announced on social media – this one is truly beyond the pale, and it’s time for them to call him out, and insist on a fair deal for the Kurds.
International pressure must be applied, from every quarter and with every available voice. It was unanimously agreed by our conference that peace talks should be implemented immediately.
Another unanimous agreement came yesterday on drug policy. More than 1000 people died from drug related deaths here in 2018, and we believe most of these deaths were avoidable.
The Scottish Government’s ability act is constrained by the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act which is entirely reserved to Westminster. This act is not fit for purpose to deal with what is a public health issue, not a criminal one.
We need immediate exemptions to legislation to allow for treatment interventions such as drug consumption rooms, and devolution of drugs legislation to the Scottish Parliament.
East Kilbride SNP members have been busy too and submitted policy proposals of their own which conference will consider. Our convener will present the case of Kinship Carers.
Many of the children involved in such care are subject to compulsory supervision orders (CSO) as a result of them being at risk. A residency order can be sought, but legal costs can be prohibitive.
Not having one means the CSO stays in place, monitored by social work, with the children having to attend regular Children’s Hearings. Stressful for the child, and the carers.
East Kilbride SNP are calling on the Scottish Government to research all of this with a view to removing the obstacles Kinship Carers can face in trying to provide a secure and happy environment for the children in their care.
I will again be raising the matter of children being detained at Dungavel, despite LibDem promises back in 2010 when they were in Government - shameful.
Thousands of women in the East Kilbride area are facing delays of up to seven years to receive their state pension.
And they have this week been urged to keep battling the government to get what is rightfully theirs.
Anne Potter, who has been leading a fight for the pension rights of women in this area since 2016, was left downheartened last week after campaigners suffered a High Court defeat.
Part of the Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) group, she launched a legal battle after the UK government changed pension plans and raised the women’s qualifying age to 65 in 2018.
That was much sooner than originally planned and affects 3.8 million women across the country. Here is East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, that directly affects area 4370 women born in the 1950s.
That means some will lose out on tens of thousands of pounds from their savings – they will also be forced to wait an additional five to seven years for their state pension.
Sixty-five-year-old Anne set up a local branch of WASPI after first learning of the huge ramifications of the government pension changes – the group now takes in the whole of Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire.
She said: “Locally, I’m still pursuing the Ombudsman cases and encouraging women to contact their local MP, and then file their own complaint into the Ombudsman.
“If they don’t do this now they may have to start a long process with the DWP.
“We are not giving up. A lot of women are in dire distress, while others don’t even know the terrible situation they’re in yet.
“They’re not going to get their pension at age 60 as expected – and in some cases they’ll have to wait until they’re 67.”
WASPI and fellow campaign group, Backto60, argue the government changes were implemented unfairly, leaving many no time to make alternative plans.
They have called for compensation for those affected.
However, High Court judges last week threw out claims of discrimination against affected women.
She has encouraged women to fill in a straightforward form with their own personal story, have their MP sign it, and then submit it to the Ombudsman.
She added: “We are not a political group.
“Politicians across Lanarkshire have been extremely supportive and helpful.
“Even Paul Masterton, the Conservative MP for East Renfrewshire, has been very supportive of our group despite what the Tory government has done.
“I don’t care which party supports us as long as we receive backing, and I’m pleased that we have a cross-party support group in Holyrood too.”
Women born in the 1950s whose pension is affected are encouraged to visit the website: www.waspiscotland. uk.
They can download the form for submitting a complaint to the Ombudsman on this website.
Local SNP are hoping kinship carers can be helped...